Wake Me
by notyourbro
Summary: When Beth manages to wake Josh after the prank, angst, punches and minor panic ensue (in that order). It's a good thing Chris is always there for comfort.


Josh didn't want to wake up.

He was perfectly content sprawled on top of the counter, thank you very much, but the person shaking him was insistent. And loud.

"Holy _shit_ ," he said, his voice slurred by the alcohol in his system and muffled by the sleeve of his sweater. "Can't you see I'm sleeping?"

Josh squinted against the lights and glimpsed Chris passed out across from him, blond hair mussed at the front. Immediately distracted, Josh reached an arm across the counter to run his fingers through the strands; Chris groaned and batted his hand away in response.

"So cute," Josh whispered reverently.

He felt another sharp tug on his arm, and Beth's voice reached his ears. "Josh, _please_." Somewhere in the back of his intoxicated brain, he registered his sister's panic. He twisted his head lazily to see her standing over him, her expression pinched with worry.

"What's up?" he asked.

Beth just groaned and hauled him to his feet, pulling him toward the lodge's front door. The sharp February air hit the skin of Josh's face like a punch, and he sobered up almost instantly.

"Whoa." His ran his hands over his face, and when he opened his eyes again, everyone was staring at him. The tension was palpable. "Uh," he started, "why are we outside?"

Mike opened his mouth to respond, but Beth cut him off. Her fingers dug into Josh's forearm, painful even through the thickness of his sweater.

"Hannah's out there," she said. "They tricked her into thinking Mike was coming on to her, and she got upset, and then I saw her outside… She's gone into the woods, Josh."

Josh's mind jumped to the cliff side that wasn't that far, and his heart skipped in his chest. Hannah didn't know the layout of the mountain like he did.

"Fuck," he cursed. His gaze swept over his friends, all of whom were suddenly trying very hard to avoid his eyes. "I'm going after her."

"Josh," Mike cut in. "It's not safe out there, man—"

"Which is exactly why I'm going after her," he snapped. "Maybe you guys should have thought about that before you decided to humiliate my sister."

Another silence fell, and Josh scoffed, bristling with anger. He took off into the snow-covered woods, ignoring the calls of his friends behind him.

Trudging through the snow in the middle of the night wasn't an ideal task under any circumstances, let alone with a stomach full of alcohol. The lodge was barely out of sight when he felt bile rise in his throat, and he leaned against a tree for support.

 _Keep it down, buddy._ He closed his eyes and breathed deeply until his stomach had settled, and when he opened his eyes again, he noticed something: a second pair of footprints, veering off down a fork in the path. Hannah.

Infused with newfound energy, he took off down the path, calling his sister's name. Then he saw it: _another_ pair of footprints, trailing up and over the hill nearest him. Large, definitely-not-Hannah footprints.

"What the fuck?" Josh whispered. He leaned down to inspect the unfamiliar tracks, as though the answer would be written inside the imprint, and a sharp flare of heat him from the side.

Josh turned his head just in time to see flames light up the trees. They dissipated as quickly as they had come, and a piercing screech echoed through the darkness.

Josh's chest tightened. Shit happened on desolate mountains, but that? That was weird. He wracked his brain to remember—had he taken his medication this morning? _Was_ this the medication? Either way, it wasn't good.

"Not now," he muttered to himself. "Come on, not _now_."

Heart hammering, he barreled down the path, trying to ignore the strange sounds that set off frantic alarm bells in his head. _Delusion delusion delusion_.

Josh heaved an enormous sigh of relief when he reached a small clearing and spotted Hannah crouched on the ground, arms wrapped around herself. She jumped at the sound of Josh's approach, and her face crumpled as soon as she laid eyes on him.

"Don't say you told me so," she said, curling into herself again. "Please."

"Han…" Josh knelt beside her and touched her arm gently; it was ice cold. "God, you're freezing." He pulled his sweater over his head and handed it to her. "Put this on."

Hannah sniffled and obliged. The sweater hung long and loose on her thin limbs, and she glanced over at Josh, now clad only in a t-shirt and jeans. "Now _you're_ freezing," she whined.

Josh smiled and fought to keep his teeth from chattering. "Guess we better get our asses back to the lodge then."

Hannah groaned, and Josh knew exactly what she meant. Mike. He helped his sister to her feet and wrapped her in a tight hug. They stood there for a long moment, huddled together against the cold and the darkness.

"I was gonna take my shirt off for him," Hannah mumbled into his shoulder.

Josh pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "I know," he whispered.

"You don't, though," Hannah insisted. She pulled away and looked at Josh with tired, red-rimmed eyes. "Neither of you know. You have Chris, Beth has Sam, and what do I have? Nothing. No one." Her eyes brimmed with tears, and she wiped her face on the sleeve of Josh's sweater. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong."

"Hannah…" God, he wished he was better at these things, but consolation was never his strong suit. And Hannah was right—it wasn't fair. Neither Josh nor Beth had been looking for someone; they just got lucky. Hannah deserved it as much as any of them, and somehow she was the one drawing the short stick.

Hannah waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it. I'm just being dumb." She nudged Josh with her elbow. "Thanks for coming to get me."

"Anytime, munchkin."

Hannah wrinkled her nose at the sound of her childhood nickname, but Josh caught the flicker of a smile on her lips before she turned away. "Gross," she said. "Take me inside before I barf."

Josh's teeth were chattering furiously by the time the lodge came into view again. Chris pulled open the door as they approached, relief spreading across his features.

"My god, you guys," he huffed, pulling them both into a hug. "Beth filled me in. Hannah, I— "

"I'm going to my room now," Hannah said curtly. She slipped out of Chris' embrace and hurried inside, keeping her head down as she made a beeline for the stairs. Sam called after her and got nothing. A moment later, the sound of a slamming door echoed through the lodge.

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. Josh shivered involuntarily, and Chris' eyes snapped back open.

"Oh, shit." He closed the door behind them and rubbed his hands up and down Josh's arms. "You must be freezing your ass off."

Josh mumbled something incoherent, and Chris took off his button-up, wrapping it around Josh's shoulders. "Come on," he encouraged. "Let's go upstairs."

Upstairs. Josh thought of Hannah alone in her room—Hannah alone in the woods… "Where's Mike?" he asked.

Chris took both of Josh's hands and looked at him nervously. "Don't worry about Mike, dude. Let's just—"

"No," Josh said sharply. He freed his hands, pulled Chris' shirt on properly, and stormed into the main room. Everyone turned to stare at him again, but Josh had eyes for only one person.

"What's up, bro?" he spat as he approached Mike, who scrambled off the couch and backed away, hands raised in surrender.

"Look, man," Mike said. His tone was light, but Josh detected the slightest tremor of fear as he closed in. "Why don't we just leave this 'til tomorrow? It's late, you're drunk—"

"I'm sober enough to know you're a fucking asshole."

"Whoa, hey." He laughed shakily. "It was just a joke, man, we didn't mean anything— "

"Oh, you didn't? You didn't mean to take advantage of my sister's feelings for you? Her shirt just…unbuttoned by itself?" Josh stepped closer, and Mike bumped up against the wall. "Tell me, Mike," he asked coolly, "exactly what _did_ you mean?"

Mike was very obviously scared now. He licked his lips nervously, and his eyes flickered around the room in a silent plea for help. No one took the bait. Finally his gaze landed on Jess, and he blurted, "It was her idea."

Jess scoffed angrily. "Way to throw me under the bus, Mike."

"It's true! I was just— "

Josh never found out what Mike was _just_ doing. His right hand curled into a fist at his side, and before he could think himself out of it, he pulled his arm back and punched. Hard. His fist landed against Mike's surprisingly sharp cheekbone, and Mike's head bounced against the wall. He let out a pained noise and his knees buckled slightly.

Josh was pulling back again—aiming for Mike's stomach this time—when a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind and pinned his arms to his sides.

"Josh, stop!" Chris' voice was loud in his ear.

"You're lucky I don't kick your sorry ass outside," Josh continued, watching as Mike poked gingerly at his cheek. "Leave you to the fucking wolves."

"Okay, _wow,_ we're going now." Chris hauled Josh toward the stairs and called over his shoulder, "Might want to get some ice for that."

Everything was too much. The prank, the punch, the goddamn alcohol still coursing through his system. Josh headed for the bathroom as soon as Chris relinquished his hold and retched into the toilet.

Chris knelt next to him, rubbing circles onto his back. "Jesus, dude."

He groaned and rested his forehead against the lip of the toilet, waiting a minute to make sure he was finished before pulling himself to his feet. He flushed and turned to find Chris holding out his toothbrush and toothpaste.

Josh grunted his thanks. He brushed his teeth for a long time. Chris stood behind him, arms wrapped around his waist, planting small kisses on the back of his shoulder.

Josh finished and gestured to the toilet. "Do you need to take a turn now?" he asked dryly.

Chris chucked softly, his breath tickling Josh's neck. "You know me," he said. "I'm more of a morning-after puker." He reached for Josh's right hand and took it in his own, brushing his thumb lightly over Josh's knuckles. "That's going to be sore tomorrow."

Josh's fingers stung at the touch, and he hissed through his teeth. "It's sore now."

Chris tightened his hold on Josh's waist and kissed him behind the ear. "God, I can't believe you punched Mike Munroe in the face."

"I don't think _anyone's_ punched Mike Munroe in the face."

Chris turned Josh around and looked at him sternly. "Seriously, though… You know you shouldn't have done that, right?"

He made a noncommittal noise and avoided his boyfriend's gaze. Panic at what-might-have-been was starting to seep through his chest, alternative outcomes filling his mind with fear.

Chris touched Josh's cheek lightly. "Hey. I'm losing you."

Josh tried to gather his anxiety into a coherent form. "She could've been hurt, Chris," he said finally. "Something could've—I thought I saw something out there."

"Like what?" Chris asked.

Josh remembered what had happened and laughed quietly to himself. "A fire-breathing dragon? I don't know." He buried his face in Chris' shoulder. "I don't even know if it was real."

"Josh," Chris breathed. His hand came up to rest in the soft curls on Josh's head. "If you're having problems with your meds, we can— "

"No," Josh protested. "I don't want to talk about this right now. Too much shit tonight as it is."

"Okay." Chris kissed the top of his head. "Bed?"

"Bed."

They shed everything besides their boxers and collapsed into the sheets. Chris settled in on his side and Josh lay facing him, their legs tangled together. Their lips met in the darkness, and Josh couldn't help but think about what Hannah had said—about how shitty things were for her right now.

He pulled away, eyes barely making out the outline of Chris' face. He ruffled the front of his blond hair. "I don't deserve you, honestly."

Chris sighed. "Okay, I can take a certain amount of sentiment, but that was ridiculous." He pulled Josh in for another kiss. "Go to sleep. We'll figure everything out in the morning."

Josh settled in Chris' arms. He listened as Chris' breath slowed to a deep, regular rhythm and felt the steady thump of his heart in his chest. His skin was warm against Josh's, and before long, Josh felt his eyelids growing heavy.

He was probably in for another round of nightmares, if the night's events were any indication, and tomorrow was almost certainly going to be awkward for everyone. But Chris was right. They had the morning. _Hannah_ had the morning.

And that was something.


End file.
